A McCreachery Card Theory

[cyseymour]

Fantastic research, David. From that article, we can see that the downfall came in 1888.

"In 1888 the Wolverines dropped from first to fifth, and then at season's end, dropped right out of the league."

So the term "creach" could very well have been in response to the rapid downfall of the Detroit Wolverines. Also, the card is dated to 1888 based on its design, which has the white block with text at the bottom, not 1887, since the photo lacks the "flying sausage" advertisement known on 1887 cards.

So it seems that they were calling him Irish via blaming him for the downfall of the Detroit Wolverines. Wow.

[cyseymour]

Hmm... having thought this through, it is also true that at the close of the 1888 season, White was sold to Boston, who wound up releasing him because he was too old. So probably the card is a joke on a number of levels.

a) White was too old and thus tabbed a manager of Indianapolis.
b) "Creach" being that his poor performance in 1888 was responsible for Detroit's downfall.
c) "McCreachery" - labelled as being Irish in a derogatory manner as a result of it.

So Joe's original interpretation of him being called a manager because he was too old was probably correct. However, this thread does unveil the mystery of the "McCreachery" name and add another layer to the card's meaning

[Matthew H]

David, thanks for posting that SABR Journal. That was a very informative read. It seems that Deacon Whites enshrinement was long overdue.

[novakjr]

my main point, wasn't necessarily that poor performance led to the downfall of the Wolverines, but that his actions and views could eventually be very destructive to the game in general, if other players were to follow suit(basically unionization)..Although the same could possibly be applied in terms of being a clubhouse distraction to the Wolverines..

"creachery" would be collective actions or views(and/or the practice of) that are perceived to be destructive or distractive(in this case depending on your views, to either just the Wolverines or on a larger scale the whole league). Maybe it's just a case of "deacon being manny"?

Or maybe we're all over thinking it...

Just looked at the article again. I completely missed a key sentence.
"Just as White had been present at the temporary demise of Cincinnati as a major league city, so was he to be a part of Buffalo's departure." Combine that with Detroit's downfall. Maybe the joke is that he was viewed as the "kiss of death" for a team?

Co-incidentally, after jokingly appearing on this card as the manager for "Indianapolis", they also folded in 1889. Now wouldn't that be the ultimate joke..

[cyseymour]

Originally Posted by novakjr

my main point, wasn't necessarily that poor performance led to the downfall of the Wolverines, but that his actions and views could eventually be very destructive to the game in general, if other players were to follow suit(basically unionization)..Although the same could possibly be applied in terms of being a clubhouse distraction to the Wolverines..

"creachery" would be collective actions or views(and/or the practice of) that are perceived to be destructive or distractive(in this case depending on your views, to either just the Wolverines or on a larger scale the whole league). Maybe it's just a case of "deacon being manny"?

Or maybe we're all over thinking it...

Just looked at the article again. I completely missed a key sentence.
"Just as White had been present at the temporary demise of Cincinnati as a major league city, so was he to be a part of Buffalo's departure." Combine that with Detroit's downfall. Maybe the joke is that he was viewed as the "kiss of death" for a team?

Co-incidentally, after jokingly appearing on this card as the manager for "Indianapolis", they also folded in 1889. Now wouldn't that be the ultimate joke..

Maybe they knew Indianapolis was about to go under, and that's why they choose that team!

[oldjudge]

David--that is an interesting theory and it makes quite a bit of sense. A unique card now has a great story to go with it.

[cyseymour]

Another interpretation:

McCrea in gaelic: "Son of Grace"
Chery in french: "Dear, Darling", aka "mon cherie"

So McCreachery could have meant something along the lines of "Dear Son of Grace". Which would make sense since he was a devout Christian.

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Chery
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Mccrea

I think we have a winner!

[RCMcKenzie]

n172mccreachery.jpg


Great research, David. Thanks to all who have contributed to the discussion. It is a fun subject to discuss. I have read that White was a minor league manager, but apparently he never actually managed the Indianapolis club, which supports David's account of the meaning of the name (downfall, fall from grace etc.).

I also read in the last week that White was aware of the induction classes in 1936 and 1937 and was very surprised that he was not going into the HOF. he died in 1939 at 91.

[cyseymour]

Just a little more info:

"Crea" is Latin, it is the root word for create, creator (i.e. God).

http://www.english-for-students.com/crea.html

Cher is from French, it is a word of affection, probably literally means sweet, the English word "Cherry" is presumably derived from it. "Chery" is a last name in French. The English name "Cheryl" is derived from it. We use this in English, i.e. "Sweet Marie", "Sweet Jesus", etc.

So a little more fluidly, "McCreachery" means "Sweet Son of God". It is a double-entendre with the word "creach" to describe the demise of the teams he's played for, because "Creach" means "fall from grace". Get it?

These OJ producers sure were smart! Bravo to everyone who participated!